Flight Centre Business Travel is giving UK customers the option to book and manage business travel via an online solution for the first time with the launch of HelloFCBT.

The new proprietary travel technology platform has been developed to meet the increasing demand from the specialist Flight Centre division’s 2000 small- and medium-sized business travel clients in the UK for user-friendly technology that enables them to quickly self-book point to point business travel.

Until now clients were serviced purely offline via phone and email by local travel consultants at FCBT’s 20 offices across the UK.

The new digital platform is designed to complement the company’s continued personal offline service offering particularly for complex bookings, or those clients who still prefer to arrange travel via their dedicated consultant.

The platform’s interface reflects a leisure travel booking experience and enables business travel bookers and travellers to search and book an extensive choice of air, hotel, rail and car content quickly and easily.

This includes Flight Centre negotiated fares, client specific fares, public air fares, scheduled and low-cost carriers, as well as Flight Centre negotiated hotel content, properties and rates.

Joe Beevis, UK general manager, Flight Centre Business Travel, explained: “We are very excited about introducing technology to our service offering for the first time.

“FCBT was born out of Flight Centre’s leisure business almost 15 years ago to meet the increasing need for business travel support from customers who already booked leisure travel with us.

“Since then we have become the fast-growing division within Flight Centre and evolved into a specialist business travel provider in 20 locations across the UK and Ireland for clients ranging from individual business owners to larger corporations spending £50,000 to £2 million on business travel per annum.”

He added: “Our people have always been at the heart of our business, delivering an amazing personal service and cost savings to our clients – and that’s not going to change.

“But technology and the expectations of our clients have changed.

“Our aim with the launch of HelloFCBT and Sam is to complement the exceptional personal service from our travel experts with appropriate technology solutions. 

“Booking business travel doesn’t need to be complicated.”